A/HRC/12/34/Add.2
page 2
Summary
The present report follows a visit to Brazil by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, and focuses on the issues of
indigenous peoples of Brazil in relation to the realization of their right to self-determination and
related human rights. The Special Rapporteur notes that the Government of Brazil has
manifested a commitment to advance the rights of indigenous peoples in accordance with
relevant international standards, having ratified International Labour Organization Convention
(No. 169) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries and supported
adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Additionally,
Brazil has important constitutional and other legal protections for indigenous peoples, and its
Government has developed a number of significant programmes in areas of indigenous land
rights, development, health and education. Nonetheless, the Special Rapporteur observes that
indigenous peoples of Brazil continue to face multiple impediments to the full enjoyment of their
human rights. Further efforts are needed to ensure that indigenous peoples are able to fully
exercise their right to self-determination within the framework of a Brazilian State that is
respectful of diversity, which means exercising control over their lives, communities and lands,
and effectively participating in all decisions affecting them in accordance with their own cultural
patterns and authority structures. Conscious of these challenges, the Special Rapporteur offers
several recommendations that may serve to enhance the recognition and protection of the rights
of the indigenous peoples in Brazil in line with the Government’s commitments.